Pete Campbell
Peter Pete Campbell was born in New York City in 1934.Smoke Gets in Your Eyes Childhood Pete Campbell attended Deerfield Academy in Massachusetts and went to college at Dartmouth. At Sterling Cooper Peter joined Sterling Cooper in June or May 1958Nixon vs. Kennedy Pete is eager to impress Don. Don and Pete join Roger Sterling in welcoming The Lucky Strike family to the office. Pete had previously gone through Don's trash and found a report about smoking dangers. Pete offers up a suggestion that they advertise to people's "death wish." Despite the fact that his wedding was approaching that weekend, Pete becomes infatuated with Peggy Olson the moment he meets her. The young execs, led by Pete, hit the gentlemen's club. The bachelor party long over, Pete shows up at Peggy's door. She asks why he came. He leans in, his lips brushing against her bangs. "I wanted to see you tonight," he whispers. Without a moment of hesitation, she lets him in. Pete returns from his honeymoon, excited about his new marriage, but conflicted about his past encounter with Peggy. The men all ask for salacious details and everyone else gives him a warmer welcome than expected. Pete approaches Peggy to get in on a meeting with the creative team. Before joining Harry, Paul and Salvatore in Don's office he pauses to tell Peggy that he's married now. Lowering her voice, she says she understands, despite her look of disappointment.Marriage of Figaro One day his wife comes to the office, and he introduces her to the group. Afterward, they go apartment hunting, but they can not afford a place with his salary. He tries to discuss the matter with his father but is shot down. He is told that he was given him his name and asked, "what have you done with it?" A day later, Trudy brings up the matter with her parents. They are willing to help, but Pete resists the help. Ken and Walter Veith, from Bethlehem Steel meet Pete for after-hours drinks. Pete provides him with two twenty-something women at the table, in an attempt for Pete to talk shop about the steel campaign. The next day, the group reconvenes and Walter eyes the mockups. This time, Don tries to sell an "Oh Little Town of Bethlehem" theme, but Walter prefers the one Pete pitched the night before: "Bethlehem Steel is the backbone of America." Don isn't pleased: "I need you to go and get a cardboard box. Then put your things in it." Pete, trying not to hyperventilate, pours himself a drink in his office. Don and Roger Sterling meet with Mr. Cooper in his office to discuss Pete's termination. Unfortunately for Don's ego, Pete's mother is Dorothy Dyckman, the family that used to own nearly everything north of 125th Street. Thus, Pete is the gateway to many of the city's marquee interests. Don and Roger enter Pete's office to tell him he's off the hook. Roger tells Pete that he and Cooper wanted him gone, but Don decided to give him another chance. At Pete and Trudy's new apartment, Mrs. Lyman -- their new neighbor -- meets the newlyweds and implores for stories about Pete's Dykeman roots. As Trudy shares the stories, Pete looks to nothing in particular.New Amsterdam Ken wrote a short story, "Tapping a Maple on a Cold Vermont Morning," that was published in the acclaimed Atlantic Monthly. Pete, Paul and Harry are not at all pleased with his good news. Pete is determined to get published, so he asks Trudy to go see Charlie Fiddich, a mover and shaker in the publishing world, to get the piece in print. Trudy -- who had broken off an engagement with Charlie, who was also her first -- was noticeably hesitant. With some negotiation, Pete persuades her to agree. After a long day, Pete arrives back at his apartment, where Trudy has prepared a pot roast. She's got good news: Charlie offered to publish his story in Boy's Life Magazine. Pete is far from thankful. Trudy admits, "I could have gotten you in The New Yorker if I wanted to, I just don't know why you'd put me in that position."5G Pete forgoes lunch one day, to stand in line at a department store's customer service so he can return a Chip N' Dip wedding gift. He and Trudy had already gotten the tomato-and-leaves tray. When Pete sees that a young clerk named Rosemary will be helping him, he lights up. Because he has no receipt, she will only give him store credit. Back at Pete's office, Paul, en and Harry arrive to see Pete holding a 22-caliber rifle overhead -- his exchange purchase for the Chip N' Dip. He aims it into the bullpen, checking out the secretaries. The purchase outrages Trudy because he exchanged a gift from her aunt for a "stupid toy." Peggy enters with a folder.Red in the Face An innocent morning starts at Sterling Cooper, with both Pete and Peggy riding the elevator up to work. It's early and they are the first two employees to arrive. When they arrive on their floor, Peggy enters Pete's office to see if he wants any coffee. He tells her to come in and close the door. "Do you know how hard it is to see you walking around here everyday?" Pete says, grabbing her waist and leaning in for a deep, passionate kiss. Within moments, they're on his couch, Peggy unbuckling his pants and Pete fumbling with her skirt. Later, Pete tucks in his shirt, and Peggy notices her torn collar -- from when Pete ripped it open. In an attempt to clear the air, Pete says that he hasn't looked over Peggy's copy as he promised. "I have all these things going on in my head, and I can't say them," he adds. Later that day, while at P.J. Clarke's, most of Sterling Cooper is doing the twist on the dance floor. Peggy notices Pete sitting alone and twists her way to him. She asks him to dance, but he declines. "I don't like you like this," he says in a hard tone. Her eyes fill with tears as she returns to the crowd.The Hobo Code Sterling Cooper takes on work for advertising the Nixon campaign, and in a brilliant move, Pete suggests that they buy up on-air ads for Secor laxatives. "We're selling laxatives, Nixon's selling Nixon and Kennedy's watching Mamie's funeral," Pete says. Roger and Cooper barge in later to a meeting, and ask who is responsible for the purchasing of yet un-produced Secor commercials. Harry and Pete timidly take ownership, and to their surprise, get nothing but congratulations. Pete and the boys are celebrating his success in the bullpen when Peggy walks by. As they did before, they make fun of her. "They call a girl like her a lobster," Ken says. "All the meat's in the tail." Pete, taking offense immediately clocks Ken in the jaw. They fight onto the ground while Don and Roger leave, unphased.Shoot On the coffee table in Don's office is a pink plastic belt shaped like women's panties with a small control box and electric cord. After they timidly inspect it, they discover that it's a weight loss invention. Whether it actually causes weight loss is yet to be determined, and Pete is skeptical to promote it. "It might be a lightning rod for the government and other people out to kill advertising," he says. The men jokingly suggest that Peggy might be a good candidate to try the "Electrosizer." With Roger in the hospital after suffering from a heart attack, Pete, Harry, Paul, Ken and Sal sit in Pete's office, debating what might happen to the company. Sal jokes that he already sent out his resume, but Harry thinks Don will become partner. When they all start wondering if Don likes them, Pete shrugs in annoyance. Don accepts the partner position at Sterling Cooper and Pete is the first to congratulate him. Don, high off his promotion and raise, gives Peggy a raise, and the rest of the day off. Pete sneaks in to Don's office to sit behind the desk. Just then, the mailroom boy delivers the package from Adam.Indian Summer Pete, sitting in the dark living room of his apartment, leafs through Adam's shoebox. In it, he peers at dog tags, letters and photographs, one of which shows a young Don and Adam riding horses. He flips it to see "Dick and Adam, 1944" written. Just then, Trudy walks in. She's noticed him sneaking around with that box and wonders why he won't return it. Pete, eager for a promotion, brings Adam's box to Don in his office, and when he makes no more progress with the promotion, Pete reveals that he knows Don's past. According to his friend at the defense department, Dick Whitman died in Korea 10 years ago in 1950. A man named Donald Draper dropped off the map although he would be 43 years old by now and Don looks remarkably good for a 43 year old. Don returns to the office and approaches Pete. "I thought about what you said, and then I thought about you and what a deep lack of character you have," he says, adding that he will hire Duck. Pete threatens to go to Cooper, but Don calls his bluff and walks out to give Cooper the news. Confused at how Don would rather lose it all than see him succeed, Pete follows Don into Cooper's office with him. Don tells Cooper he's hiring Duck, then looks to Pete. Pete returns the glance and tells Cooper how Don is really Dick Whitman, a deserter and criminal. "Who cares?" Cooper replies as Don calmly lights another cigarette. "This country was built and run by men with worse stories than whatever you've imagined here." Pete sits with his father-in-law, Tom, who knows Pete was passed over for a promotion. Pete brings in a pharmaceutical account from Tom's company, Vicks Chemical, called Clearasil. Don admits that he's impressed. Pete's connection -- and subsequent investment in Sterling Cooper -- got him a bonus from Cooper, along with the Ayn Rand book. While they celebrate this victory, Don tells Pete that because young girls buy the blemish-busting Clearasil, Peggy would be the perfect writer for the account. "Peggy is not even a copywriter," he protests. "She's a secretary." With that, Don calls Peggy into his office and immediately makes her a junior copywriter with Clearasil as her first task. Pete storms out of the room. A New Direction References Category:Male Category:Sterling Cooper Category:Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce